VW boss promises 30 new models

Volkswagen wants to do it again: the Group plans to launch 30 new models on the market this year. "This is the biggest model offensive in the history of this company," said Group CEO Oliver Blume at the presentation of the 2023 balance sheet. Many of the new cars are electric vehicles such as the IW ID 7 Tourer, Porsche Macan or Audi Q6 e-Tron. VW cannot stop the current weak demand for e-cars. The e-car offensive is continuing and the course is set for electromobility. Blume: "You shouldn't question everything every time there is a headwind."

And the wind is indeed blowing from the front at the moment: the abrupt end of electric car subsidies in Germany has dealt another blow to demand for battery-powered cars. Chinese manufacturers are coming to Europe with cheaper models and have long since overtaken VW in China. Now the ban on combustion engines planned for 2035 is once again being called into question in the EU. Yet last year, VW sold 35 percent more electric cars than in 2022. Overall, car sales only increased by ten percent.

The Group is therefore currently building three battery cell factories. They are part of the 170 billion euros that the company plans to invest over the next five years. This is also a record figure, which is set to fall again in the coming years, as VW CFO Arno Antlitz announced. Because VW currently still has to do both: Build new electric cars without neglecting combustion engines. VW is investing 130 billion euros in e-mobility and 50 billion euros in petrol and diesel cars, as the end of the combustion engine is not yet in sight in many markets. This means that the world's second-largest car manufacturer after Toyota is having to adopt a two-pronged approach. Blume: "This flexibility is a real competitive advantage if we are to remain successful in the future." So far, only Europe has set a date for phasing out the combustion engine. China, North America - with the exception of California - and South America are still avoiding a fixed date. (aum)